Stephen Thurston was the oldest son of Stephen and Emily Thurston of Newport, Maine. In July of 1862 Stephen and his younger brother enlisted in Co K of the 11th Maine Infantry

Only months after enlisting they found themselves at Hilton Head, South Carolina. While there John contracted an illness that would never leave him. Army doctors believed it was rheumatic fever.He was enrolled in the Invalid Corps, later called the Veteran Reserve Corps where he was assigned less strenuous duty He spent the rest of his 3 yr enlistment in Ohio guarding trains and supply depots. Mustered out in July 1865 John remained in poor health. He died quietly in April 1866 at the age of 21 and was buried in the family plot in Riverside Cemetery at Newport.

Even as his younger brother suffered, Stephen stayed with the 11th maine. The regiment traveled through South Carolina and Georgia to Florida before being sent back north to Virginia in july 1864. The 11th participated in the seige of Petersburg, where it was ordered to guard the Union bridgehead across the James River at Deep Bottom. Co K was sent out on july 23, 1864, to reconnoitor Confederate activities on Strawberry Plains, just east of the bridgehead. The company encounterd enemy picketts, and both sides opened fire. Three Union soldiers were killed and four wounded.Stephen, one of the wounded, was taken to the Point of Rocks depot hospital where died days later. He was buried near the hospital, , but his body was moved in 1866 to the City Point National Cemetery in Hopewell, Virginia.